Pasta Maker

I LOVE pasta. Of course the best part about the pasta is the sauce! Over the weekend I made a quadruple batch of pasta sauce in order to have it in the freezer and at the ready for a quick meal. I like to freeze the pasta in 2 cup increments because it seems to be the right amount to amply sauce 1/2 a pound of pasta for 2 servings. Also, I like to freeze the sauce in Ziploc bags. When I ladle the 2 cups into the bag, I squeeze out the air and lie it flat so it's about 1/8-inch thick so it takes no time at all to defrost - for those times when I forget to leave it out. Or it can melt right out of the bag into a saute pan. Plus it takes up far less space in the freezer.

Marinara Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2-28 oz. cans whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely
1 teaspoon sugar (if needed)


Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Use a potato masher to break up tomatoes. Reduce heat, simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil and parsley, and cook 1 minute. Taste and add sugar, if needed.

Black(berry) Magic

What a great weekend I’ve been having – out for dinner both Friday and Saturday night and now tonight is my dad’s turn to cook Sunday dinner. He made the nicest tasting blackberry sauce to pour over our grilled chicken. With this he served steamed carrots with fresh mint, blanched French green beans and grilled new potatoes. Below is the recipe for the blackberry sauce, which he clipped from this past Wednesday’s Province newspaper. You could serve this sauce either over chicken or salmon. As there’s a nice amount of sauce leftover, I’m going to freeze it and keep it for midweek to try over salmon.

Savoury Blackberry Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1-12/ cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries13/4 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter in a small pot set over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until it melts. Add the wine, juice, vinegar, blackberries and stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the mixture by half. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a small pot, firmly pressing on berries with back of a ladle to get as much liquid as you can. Stir the cornstarch/water mixture, rosemary, salt and pepper into the strained sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and it’s ready to use.